Circular target for high volume entrained refiner discharge



June w, 1969 A. D. CORMACK 3,449,206

CIRCULAR TARGET FOR HIGH VOLUME ENTRAINED REFINER DISCHARGE Filed June a, 1965 Sheet Or 2 I N VIBE/w"! "OR.

gm/i2 00 m wwww M A TTORA [5 Y8 A. D. coRMAcK CIRCULAR TARGET FOR HIGH VOLUME ENTRAINED REFINER I'U'SCHARGE June 10,1969

Sheet 2/ of 2 Filed June 8, 1965 I INVEN'IOR. ddevmzafgzflonwaz/a zww/ @1605 ATTORYS United States Patent 3,449,206 CIRCULAR TARGET FOR HIGH VOLUME ENTRAENED REFINER DISCHARGE Alexander D. Cormack, Pittsfield, Mass, assignor to Jones Division, Beloit Corporation, Pittsfield, Mass, a corporation of Wisconsin Filed June 8, 1965, Ser. No. 462,367 Int. Cl. D21c 7/08; B02c 23/00 US. Ci. 162-261 9 Claims This invention relates to a means for maintaining a steady fiow of materials discharged from a pulp refiner as used in the paper making industry and in particular to a circular target for preventing the obstruction of a discharge conduit.

One of the principal tools in the paper making industry is a device for converting a large volume of relatively coarse raw materials into a uniform paste or pulp which is the basic constituent of the finished paper product. This device has become increasingly efficient such that the output of a modern refiner is a high speed, high density flow.

While this increased fiow is highly desirable, it has required accommodating changes elsewhere in the system. In particular, the refiner output is usually discharged through a conduit to a storage bin or the like, and it has been found that increased volumes of material and flow speeds tend to clog the connecting conduits, stalling the movement of pulp from the definer. Therefore, one accommodating requirement as a consequence of the increased refiner output is to devise an improved means of maintaining a steady flow through the connecting conduit.

-It has been learned that this clogging problem exists even for conduits which are directly aligned with the output discharge. Under this condition, the pulp appears to adhere to the side walls and eventually bridge the passageway for obstructing further flow.

However, this diificulty is greatly magnified where a change in the direction of flow is required. It is apparent that a bend in the connecting conduit would greatly encourage clogging by providing a wall in the direct flow line about which a build up in material could be expected.

The result of this clogging of the connecting discharge conduit has been to significantly discount the advantages otherwise expected from higher speed refiners.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved means for accepting and discharging the output flow of a high speed refiner.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a means for encouraging a steady flow of a refiner discharge through a connecting conduit.

It is another object of this invention to provide a means for maintaining a steady flow of pulp discharged from a high speed refiner and directed through a substantial bend in a connecting conduit.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a high speed circular disk within a discharge conduit for maintaining a steady flow of pulp therethrough.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be understood in greater detail from the following description and the associated drawings wherein reference numerals are utilized in designing a preferred embodiment and wherein:

FIGURE 1 shows the external features of a discharge conduit of this invention in conjunction with an associated high speed pulp refiner;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional View of the discharge conduit as shown in FIGURE 1 for illustrating the internal features thereof, and

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the doctor blade of 'ice,

this invention as taken along the lines III-III of FIG- URE 2.

A preferred embodiment of this invention is shown generally in FIGURE 1 as comprising a conduit section which is adapted for maintaining a steady flow of pulp at a relatively high speed. The pulp is received at the input of the conduit section directly from the output of a high density pulp refiner which is shown greatly reduced in size for illustrative purposes.

The conduit section shown in FIGURE 1 has an inlet and an outlet formed at right angles and is provided with an oblique target wall on which is mounted a housing for supporting a rotating target disposed internally of the conduit section. In this embodiment the rotating target is actuated by an electric motor through a chain drive connected directly to the target housing.

Principally the rotating target of this invention consists of a disk mounted substantially parallel to the oblique target wall and which has a shaft extending therethrough for being actuated by the chain drive. Pulp received at the inlet of the conduit section will be deposited at the rotating disk from where it will be removed and discharged by a doctor blade which is mounted at the interior of a conduit Wall adjacent to the rotating surface. It can be seen, therefore, that while the input of the conduit section is received over a large area encompassing the surface of the rotating disk, the output as rendered by the action of the doctor blade is confined to a substantially reduced region for preventing clogging of the system.

Referring to FIGURE 1 in greater detail, it can be seen that a refiner 1 has an outlet 2 which is directed for being connected to an inlet 3 of the discharge conduit. This conduit section is provided with an oblique target wall 4 which is provided to be in direct line with both the inlet 3 and an outlet 4 formed at right angles thereto. The target disk is rotated adjacent to the target wall 4 through a shaft 5 disposed within a housing 6 which is secured to the wall 4 through a weld 7. The interior of the housing 6 may be inspected either by removing a plate 8 secured by bolts 9 and 10 extending within the housing wall or by disengaging the wall 4 from the conduit section by removing a plurality of connecting bolts 11.

The shaft 5 extending from the housing 6 is actuated directly by a drive chain 12 received about a sprocket wheel 13. The chain 12 is powered by an electric motor 14 mounted to a bracket at a conduit wall through a plurality of bolts 15. As in the case of the shaft 5 the motor drive shaft 16 is connected directly to the chain 12 at a sprocket wheel 17.

In the sectional view of :FIGURE 2, it can be seen that the outlet 2 of the refiner 1 is shown mounted to the inlet 3 of the conduit section through connecting bolts 18. Here, the structure of the rotating disk and its cooperation with both the inlet 3 and the outlet 4 can be understood. In particular, the shaft 5 is received Within two radial ball bearing sets 19 and 20 separated within the interior of the housing 6 by a bearing spacer 21. For lubrication purposes the assembly is provided with a grease fitting 22 received within a port 23 formed radially within the housing wall. The upper bearing 19 is maintained contiguous with the sleeve 21 by the tightening of the cover 8 through the associated bolts 9 and 10. To maintain the axial location of the lower bearing 20, a positioning collar 24 is received within the housing 6 and is maintained against the bearing 20 by a locking ring 25 secured within a recess 26 formed at the end face 27 of the housing 6. The ring 25 is provided with an inwardly extending lip 27 which acts as a shoulder for supporting the collar 24. The entire assembly, ring, collar, and hearing, are then maintained in position by a plurality of recessed bolts 28.

The target disk itself is mounted to the shaft 5 such as to be easily removed therefrom. Here, the disk 29 is provided with a sleeve bearing 30 secured thereto by a plurality of recessed bolts 31. The sleeve and disk assembly is then mounted to the shaft 5 through the use of a set screw 32 disposed radially within the sleeve bearing 30. 7

It can be seen that the disk 29, being obliquely oriented relative to the inlet 3 provides a target area which is substantially greater than the cross-sectional area of the inlet flow. In this respect, therefore, it can be expected that the build up at the target disk 29 will be substantially less than that anticipated from a target disposed at right angles to the inlet 3. In addition, if the disk 29 is provided to be rotated at a significantly high speed, and, simultaneously, means are provided for moving the pulp deposited during each revolution, the instantaneous pulp build up at the disk surface can be held to a desirable minimum. In addition, this pulp build up can be varied by changing the speed of the motor 14 to reflect changes in the volume of material received at the inlet 3 from the refiner 1.

Means for continuously removing pulp deposited at the rotating surface is provided in the form of a doctor blade 34 which is fixedly secured to the conduit wall by fasteners 35 and 36. The blade 34 is disposed for being substantially perpendicular to the face of the rotating disk 29 such that material deposited thereon will be carried against the blade 34 for being removed and transmitted through the outlet 4. A cross-sectional view of the doctor blade 34 is shown in FIGURE 3 and comprises generally a plane surface 37 which is reinforced by a triangular plate stiifener 38. The stiffener 38 is required due to the high speed of the disk 29 and the anticipated weight of materials being carried against the blade 34. In the absence of such reinforcement, the high inertia of the rotating material would tend to deform the blade 34 thereby defeating the principal object of the target disk.

In addition to the provision for the doctor blade 34 a leveler blade 39 is provided at the upper portion of the conduit section and is secured by a fastener 40 for being substantially parallel to the disk 29. It may be noted that while the doctor blade 34 is provided to be substantially perpendicular to the rotation of the disk 29 for removing pulp deposits thereon, the blade 39 due to its parallel orientation has no such function. However, the blade 39 does serve the purpose of eliminating large deposits of pulp received at the upper region of the disk 29.

It may be noted that the blade 39 is considerably removed from the lower surface of the disk 29 relative to the corresponding spacing of the doctor blade 34. Therefore, it can be understood that while the blade 39 may be used to regulate the depth of pulp deposited at the rotating surface, it is not disposed for performing the steady removal function expected of the blade 34. In this connection it may be noted that a normal build up at the disk surface will range from A to /2 inch. As mentioned, the exact depth of this pulp deposit will depend both upon the chosen speed of the rotating disk and the volume of material discharged from the pulp refiner.

It can be appreciated, therefore, that through the provision for the high speed revolving disk 29, obliquely oriented relative to both the inlet 3 and outlet 4 of the conduit section, and through the provision for the cooperable features of the doctor blade 34 and the leveler blade 39 that a substantially uncontrolled discharge of pulp from the refiner 1 can be transformed to a steady confined and substantially uniform flow at the outlet 4. This steady flow may then be deposited onto a conveyor system for being transmitted to storage bins or to a subsequent production operation. It should also be noted that through the provision for the disk 29 and the cooperable blades 34 and 39, the voluminous flow from the refiner 1 has been constrained into a right angled turn without clogging of the connecting conduit.

It will be understood that various modifications may be suggested by the embodiment disclosed but I desire to claim within the scope of the patent warranted hereon all such modifications as come within the scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a paper processing system adapted for use with a refiner, a conduit for guiding the flow of pulp therethrough,

said conduit having an inlet and an outlet thereof and having a target wall formed intermediate said inlet and said outlet, an agitation member mounted for rotation at said target wall and extending within said conduit for improving the flow of pulp therethrough to a secondary paper processing means,

means for actuating said agitation member into a rotary motion.

2. In a paper processing system adapted for use with a refiner, a conduit for guiding the flow of pulp therethrough,

said conduit having an inlet and an outlet thereof and having a target wall formed intermediate said inlet and said outlet, said target wall being obliquely orientated relative to said inlet,

an agitation member mounted for rotation substantially parallel to said target wall and extending within said conduit for improving the flow of pulp therethrough to a secondary paper processing means,

means for actuating said agitation member into a rotary motion.

3. In a paper processing system adapted for use with a refiner, a conduit for guiding the flow of pulp therethrough,

said conduit having an inlet and an outlet thereof and having a target wall formed intermediate said inlet and said outlet, said target wall being obliquely orientated relative to said inlet,

an agitation member mounted for rotation at said target wall,

means directing the flow of pulp through said inlet and and against said agitation member at a relatively high velocity,

a doctor blade disposed adjacent to said agitation member for removing pulp deposited thereon,

means for actuating said agitation member into a retary motion.

4. In a paper processing system adapted for use With a refiner, a conduit for guiding the flow of pulp therethrough,

said conduit having an inlet and an outlet thereof and having a target wall formed intermediate said inlet and said outlet, said target wall being obliquely orientated relative to said inlet,

an agitation member mounted for rotation at said target wall,

means directing the flow of pulp through said inlet and against said agitation member at a relatively high velocity,

a doctor blade disposed adjacent to said agitation member for removing pulp deposited thereon,

a leveler blade disposed adjacent to said agitation blade for limiting the deposits of pulp thereon,

means for actuating said agitation member into a rotary motion.

5. In a paper processing system adapted for use with a refiner, a conduit for guiding the flow of pulp therethrough,

said conduit having an inlet and an outlet thereof and having a target wall formed intermediate said inlet and said outlet,

a plane surface mounted for rotation at said target wall and being obliquely orientated relative to said inlet,

a doctor blade disposed at said conduit adjacent to said plane surface for removing pulp deposited thereon, means for actuating said agitation member into a rotary motion.

6. In a paper processing system adapted for use with a refiner, a conduit for guiding the flow of pulp therethrough,

said conduit having an inlet and an outlet thereof and having a target wall formed intermediate said inlet and said outlet,

a target disk mounted for rotation at said target wall and being obliquely orientated relative to said inlet. means directing the flow of pulp through said inlet and against said target disk at a relatively high speed,

a doctor blade disposed at said conduit adjacent to said target disk for removing pulp deposited thereon, means for actuating said agitation member into a rotary motion.

7. In a paper processing system adapted for use with a refiner, a conduit for guiding the flow of pulp therethrough,

said conduit having an inlet and an outlet thereof and having a target wall formed intermediate said inlet and said outlet,

a target disk mounted for rotation at said target wall and being obliquely orientated relative to said inlet, means directing the flow of pulp through said inlet and against said target disk at a relatively high speed,

a doctor blade disposed at said conduit adjacent to said target disk for removing pulp deposited thereon,

a leveler blade disposed at said conduit adjacent to said target disk for limiting the deposits of pulp thereon, means for actuating said agitation member into a rotary motion.

8. In a paper processing system adapted for use with a refiner, a conduit for guiding the flow of pulp therethrough,

said conduit having an inlet leading tliereinlo and an outlet formed substantially perpendicular to said inlet,

a target disk mounted for rotation intermediate said inlet and said outlet for being obliquely orientated relative to said inlet,

means directing the flow of pulp through said inlet and against said target disk at a relatively high speed,

a doctor blade mounted at the interior of said conduit in the vicinity of said outlet and adjacent to said target disk for scraping pulp deposits from said disk into said outlet,

means fOr actuating said target disk into a rotary motion.

9. In a paper processing system adapted for use with a refiner, a conduit for guiding the flow of pulp therethrough,

said conduit having an inlet leading thereinto and an outlet formed substantially perpendicular to said a target disk mounted for rotation intermediate said inlet and said outlet for being obliquely orientated relative to said inlet,

means directing the flow of pulp through said inlet and against said target disk at a relatively high speed,

a doctor blade mounted at the interior of said conduit in the vicinity of said outlet and adjacent to said target disk for scraping pulp deposits from said disk into said outlet,

a leveler blade mounted at the interior of said conduit in the vicinity of said inlet and adjacent to said target disk limiting deposits of pulp thereon,

means for actuating said target disk into a rotary motion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,796,200 6/1957 Lambert et al. 222129.4

a DONALL N. SYLVESTER, Primary Examiner.

A. C. HODGSON, l-lssivmnl Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

1. IN A PAPER PROCESSING SYSTEM ADAPTED FOR USE WITH A REFINER, A CONDUIT FOR GUIDING THE FLOW OF PULP THERETHROUGH, SAID CONDUIT HAVING AN INLET AND AN OUTLET THEREOF AND HAVING A TARGET WALL FORMED INTERMEDIATE SAID INLET AND SAID OUTLET, AN AGITATION MEMBER MOUNTED FOR ROTATION AT SAID TARGET WALL AND EXTENDING WITHIN SAID CONDUIT FOR IMPROVING THE FLOW OF PULP THERETHROUGH TO A SECONDARY PAPER PROCESSING MEANS, 